Alice and her crew are doing their best to recover from the last boss battle, but some of them keep having these. . . dreams: visions of a dark past--and an even darker future. Sadly, the evil in Wonderland may not be as defeated as they'd hoped.
Attacked by Nightmares unlike any they've ever seen, Alice will have to step between the coming darkness and the mortal world once more. But this time is different. This time, the monsters aren't waiting for her on the other side of the Veil.
They're in her own back yard.
PUBLISHER: Feiwel & Friends
YEAR: 2023
LENGTH: 416 pages
AGE: Young Adult
GENRE: Fantasy, Retelling, Romance
RECOMMENDED: Yes
Queer Rep Summary: Lesbian/Sapphic Main Character(s), Gay/Achillean Main Character(s), Bi/Pan Main Character(s).
A CROWN SO CURSED logistically wraps up a lot of things left hanging from the first two books. The storyline is mostly new, but not in a way that felt complete. I don't think any major things were both introduced and resolved. As the final book of the trilogy I wanted more of relational/emotional resolution than I got. The ending felt like a checkbox of mysteries without enough time to process their implications. It would definitely not make sense if someone started here and hadn't read the first two books. Since it's the final entry in a trilogy that's fine, this should be read from the start, but it made it harder to track when I took so long to get through it.
For a while I wasn’t sure whether this book wasn’t working for me because of some gap between my preferences and the story, or if it was a mismatch between what it was attempting and what it achieved. Increasingly, it felt like an anime, of the kind that’s referenced within the actual book. With a dramatic set piece, hidden identities coming to light in the eleventh hour, and sudden power upgrades that stop just shy of deus ex machina. I prefer my books with more lengthy conversations, fewer visual effects, and a lot more aftercare. I can also recognize that the way this ended up, while not quite right for me, seems good at doing what it attempts.
I wanted resolutions to the romantic tangles and more time spent exploring revelations of identities. What I got was a bunch of plot threads wrapped up through action moments and “here’s the answer, see ya later!” Until the epilogue, I half hoped there would be a fourth book to get some of those moments I crave. I am glad that Alice and Hatta are shown as bi in a way that didn't ask either of them to pick a side or some biphobic nonsense, I like their dynamic and I like that they have flirtations and intimacy with other people.
For all that the answers came in a rush, I like the answers I got, I just wish there had been more time to explore their implications and deal with their ensuing complications.
A pretty good ending to a great trilogy, if you read my description and want more of everything I decried, then you’ll probably love this. If, like me, you want aftermath, not just answers, then this may be a bit disappointing.
Graphic/Explicit CW for car accident.
Moderate CW for grief, cursing, blood, gore, violence, injury detail.
Minor CW for death.
Bookshop Affiliate Buy Link
Fantastic Fiction
Comments
Post a Comment